By Tom St. Myer
Movement for Perdido to incorporate into a municipality is gaining momentum after hundreds of residents attended an inaugural meeting Monday night at Liberty Church.
We Are Perdido, a nonprofit chaired by Perdido resident Steven Brendtro, is exploring the option of municipal incorporation. The population of Perdido fell just short of 20,000 during the 2020 U.S. Census. Perdido represents 6% of the county population but holds 16% of its taxable real estate value at $3.5 billion and produces 20% of the tourism development tax.
In 2022, Perdido generated $47.2 million in ad valorem property tax revenue and about $60 million overall in annual revenue. If Perdido achieves 3% annual growth at its current rate of generating $60 million in annual revenue, its county tax revenue contributions over the next 10 years will top $760 million.
Perdido residents question whether there is a proper return on investment for an area generating that amount of revenue. The Escambia County Commission determines disbursement of the money.
“They’ve taken a ton of money from our area, and it’s funneled elsewhere in the county,” said Perdido resident Steven Baughman. “We’re like the forgotten children out here. When you go into town, you see areas that are beautified that you know aren’t bringing in the kind of money we are and then they can’t even mow the grass on the shoulders of the roads out here. This is a great opportunity for us to take control of that and Perdido has so much more potential than it is given the funding for.”
Buford Lipscomb, a retired pastor and longtime member of the Perdido community, spoke at the meeting and voiced his support for the municipality movement. Lipscomb said, “I’m not a fan of taxation without representation.”
The process for a community to transition into a city is arduous. Phase one alone includes community workshops, a feasibility study, collecting information from county offices, drafting a city charter, gaining support from the local delegation and approval from a House subcommittee.
Florida League of Cities Executive Director Lynn Tipton spoke at the meeting Monday and explained the steps to establishing a municipality, the pros and cons of the transition, and what a “government lite” model entails. Tipton said Destin transitioned to a municipality in 1984 and remains the newest municipality in the panhandle. The Perdido population is about three times that of the average Florida city. The median Florida city population is 6,485.
The Florida Constitution grants county and municipal governments Home Rule authority to self-govern by adopting and enforcing unique laws. The feasibility study is the first key component, followed by putting together a five-year projected budget and a proposed city charter. Brendtro said ideally the group will complete all those steps, present the results to Sen. Doug Broxon and State Reps. Alex Andrade and Michelle Salzman, and then the proposal will be submitted to a House subcommittee by September 1. If the Florida House and Senate vote on and approve the bill and the governor signs off, Perdido residents within the proposed boundaries will then vote on whether to transition into a municipality in 2024.
Whether the government lite model is the right fit for Perdido will be determined during the feasibility study. Brendtro said the group hired BJM Consulting, a firm that specializes in local government activities and conducted a feasibility study for Indiantown, a village in Martin County. Brendtro said the study will cost up to $50,000, but other expenses including an engineer survey, legal counsel and advocate fees will raise the price to somewhere in the $125-150,000 ballpark. The group is paying by phases and will soon begin fundraising to pay the full amount.
A government lite model limits government size and taxing capacity by outsourcing a significant percentage of services to the county or other providers. The government established by the municipality manages the service contracts to theoretically preserve quality of life at an affordable price. Successful examples of the model include Weston, DeBary and Fort Myers Beach. Tipton said the Florida League of Cities assisted the incorporation of 26 municipalities and every one of them chose to be governed by councils and operate without a mayor.
“If you picked a five-member city council, you the voters would vote on who those five would be,” Tipton said. “In your charter would be the length of their term—2-year, 4-year or compromise which is 3-year. The community helps in writing the charter to make a decision on that. Once they’re elected, the other question for the charter is are you going to stagger the term, say 2 years, 2 years, 1 year, two seats, two seats, one seat? You can draw it up for election at one time, but the ultimate decision is in the hands of the voters.”
Brendtro envisions a government lite model that ensures zoning and planning align with the Perdido way of life. The municipality would possess the power to improve traffic flow and street conditions for local neighborhoods, provide a fire station in the northern part of the area, increase law enforcement patrols where needed, establish uniform code enforcement, and create and implement a comprehensive stormwater management plan.
The municipality would not have authority to control curriculum in the public schools. Tipton explained that Escambia County Public Schools operate under state law.
“I do like that our school district and things like that stay the same,” Baughman said. “Everybody’s thought process coming in was we have to take care of all that ourselves and you’re talking hundreds of millions of dollars. I kind of came here with the thought that this is maybe a hope and a dream. I’m now seeing this as this might actually happen.”